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Rocky
Mountain High
Welcome to Summer, 2006!
A view from the Colorado high country.
Left Hand Reservoir in the Indian Peaks wilderness
area west of Boulder, Colorado, named after 19th
century Arapahoe Chief Niwot (Left Hand)
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Plus…
Save these dates for the 6th Annual Wellbriety
Conference, October 26-29, 2006 in Denver, Colorado.
Healing the Hurts: Children and Families Speak
Visit www.whitebison.org for more information. |
Plus…
Visit the all-new White Bison Wellbriety Discussion
Board on the website, www.whitebison.org.
• Password protected entry
• Lots of new features
• Chat and share recovery/Wellbriety with others
on the Journey. |
Derry, New Hampshire
Friday, Apr. 21, 2006
The Derry Friendship Center became
the first center in New England to launch a substance
abuse recovery program tailored to the needs and
culture of New England’s
Native American community.
The Wellbriety program was started by Colorado-based
White Bison, a nonprofit organization dedicated to
providing recovery resources for American Indians across
the country, blending Native American teachings with
the 12-step recovery model.
“It’s a native way to go after alcohol
and drugs for our people ... or anyone who has a problem,” said
Howard Martin, who is a “Firestarter” or
group moderator for Wellbriety.
The Friendship Center, located
at 45 East Broadway, chose to offer space to the
Wellbriety program as part of its mission to provide
barrier-free access to recovery programs, said Jim
DiSalvo, the center’s executive
director and president.
Having a variety of programs available
allows clients to find the group that fits their
needs. “With
peer support programs, one size does not fit all,” he
said. By offering a choice, “we’re helping
people stay abstinent from substance abuse and to grow
as a person.”
In the coming months other alternative
programs will be added to the center’s calendar,
including a support group for women recovering from
substance abuse, he said.
Through the White Bison program, the 12-Steps taught
by Alcoholics Anonymous are augmented by cultural aspects
such as drum groups, sweat lodges, singing, traditional
dance, traditional language and local Elders as part
of the Medicine Wheel, an American Indian teaching
about creation based on the four points of the compass
or the four ancient elements.
Martin, a member of the Mi’kmaq nation, said
sweat lodges, where members talk out their problems
in 200 degree rooms infused with sweet grass, will
be an important part of his Wellbriety teachings. “We’re
trying to cleanse ourselves,” said Martin, who
has been sober for 30 years.
Before Europeans brought alcohol
and medications to America, the sweat lodge was used
throughout history to “sweat out grief” and other problems,
he said. The Wellbriety program brings back the native
values and practices to help people face their problems
in life, he said. “It gives us all power when
we use earthly and normal things in life,” he
said. “We talk about solidarity and pulling Indians
together to get somewhere in life.”
While sweat lodges will be held off site, the center
will provide the space for White Bison to host discussions
and teachings on the Medicine Wheel and its application
toward recovery, said DiSalvo.
The Friendship Center serves 800 people a week with
the aim of being proactive toward combating substance
abuse, said Vice President Todd Strugnell.
“There are vanishing options,” he said. “We’re
creating an environment where community can see us
as being open to new ideas.”
For more information about Wellbriety or other programs
offered at the Friendship Center, call 603-432-9794
or visit www.derryfriendshipcenter.org.
There is a Wellbriety Movement
Medicine Wheel and
the 12 Steps Circle meeting
weekly on Thursday evenings in Derry, New Hampshire.
By mid June, there have been a total of four
Circles held in Derry, each facilitated by
local White Bison-trained Firestarter Howard
Martin, a member of the Mi’kmaq
nation. The regular events are a good way to
bring in Summer 2006 as well as offering a model
for how Firestarters Circles can be hosted by
community-based recovery support organizations
such as the Derry Friendship Center. How did
it all get started?
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The Center’s
mission is to provide an alcohol
and drug free environment for rehabilitative
support, referral information for
those seeking recovery, and social
activity, on a drop-in basis; to
promote and provide awareness, education
and advocacy; and to provide an affordable
place for peer support recovery groups
to meet.
603-432-9794 • www.derryfriendshipcenter.org. |
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“We had a couple of Mi’kmaq people
coming here and we found out that they were Firestarters,
so we kind of cornered them and asked them if
they would be interested in starting a meeting,” says
long-time Friendship Center inspiration, Bob
McFarland. “We have been interested in
getting diversity here. We’re always looking
for diverse recovery methods. We’re open
to all of it. We are a service provider for our
community, and these diverse methods give the
person in recovery a choice.”
The Derry Friendship Center
is a private, non-profit facility in Derry
that has offered drug and alcohol recovery
resources for over 25 years. Yet it’s
only in the last few years that the spirit of
the new recovery movement with its emphasis on
peer-to-peer recovery support organizations has
taken hold at the Friendship Center. The Center
has always offered AA and NA meetings, and still
does, but it seeks to diversify the kinds of
meetings for those seeking recovery from alcohol
and other drug problems. That’s how the
White Bison Wellbriety Circle found a home at
the Friendship Center.
McFarland explains that the
Center contacted the local Native American
population when they were ready to launch the
new alcohol and drug recovery meeting. They’ve had a good start. “Between
15 and 25 people have been coming,” he
says. “We expect that to grow. We’ve
had replies and comments from all the Nations
around here in New England, and they’ve
all expressed an interest in sending their people.
We researched the Wellbriety program, decided
to bring it here, and sent out the e mails announcing
it because we are looking for diversity.”
The Center also arranged for participants in
the circle to purchase the book, The
Red Road to Wellbriety: In the Native American
Way, which
is a companion to the Medicine Wheel and the
12 Step Program. Click
here for more information.
The other part of the “model,” is
the example the people of New Hampshire are setting
for media coverage for the new program. To its
great credit, the New Hampshire Union-Leader
decided the presence of a Native American-focused
recovery activity was newsworthy, doing a story
on it in the April 21, 2006 Union-Leader (please
see the preceding story). They reported the good
news! It’s an example of print media stepping
up to give addictions recovery positive coverage
when they see the chance.
The Derry Friendship Center
looks forward to adding other diverse recovery
approaches to its service offerings. Now the
slate includes AA, NA, White Bison Wellbriety,
and Women for Sobriety (WFS) meetings. Bob
McFarland looks back on his long relationship
with the Center and says, “I’ve
been here for 26 years. You could call me the
old buffalo, the old walrus, or the big frog.
I ran the place until we realized we couldn’t
support it with just AA. We decided we had to
do something different so this is what we did.
We look forward to including other recovery support
organizations in the future.”
Richard Simonelli
Editor, Wellbriety! Online Magazine |
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